Leadership Trait of the Week: Organization

When you are trying to juggle five different balls, staying on top of your projects takes skill. One of the best ways to keep those balls in the air is to be organized, both physically and mentally. That is, you want a physically organized space to work and live, and you want to have your duties organized mentally so you don’t forget a single thing. Being organized requires consistency and some effort, but once you have a system down, you may be able to add in a sixth ball.

1.Maintain an organized schedule. When you have a jam-packed schedule, the last thing you want is to be running late, miss a meeting or an appointment, and not finish your tasks on time. Keep your ducks in a row by writing down everything, from new assignments to places you need to be.

2.Tidy your work space. Having a clean desk can sometimes be the simplest way to clear your mind. De-clutter your work space by tossing scraps of unused paper and using folders to divide up different documents and subjects. With room to work, you’ll feel as though you can accomplish anything.

3.Keep your priorities in check. When you have a lot of things to do, it feels overwhelming to figure out what needs to be finished first. Organize your priorities by numbering them, with #1 being the first task to get done. You might choose to do a little bit of a few things, or to just concentrate on finishing one task completely. Either way, have a way to manage your to-dos.

4.Write it down. Using a large whiteboard or cork-board can be beneficial for organizing your life because you can write notes and messages about things you want to remember. A small planner might not be big enough to grab your attention.

5. Divide and keep track of group tasks. If you are working on a group project or with a team, organization is a must. You can write down each person’s duties in a planner, but that might be too cluttered and confusing for you. We have found Trello to be an awesome resource for not only individual tasks, but also for team projects. Your team members can update one another on their progress, you can see what your teammates are working on, and you can move around the task cards into different columns to maintain an organized group system. The best part is that everything is all in one place, which makes managing a team or working with others very easy and organized.